INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS MULL SHARING SERVICES TO CUT COSTS
IONIA, Mich. - Two intermediate school districts announced last week
plans to form a group to study the possible benefits of sharing
services in an effort to save money in both districts, according to the
Ionia Sentinel-Standard.

The 20-member group would be composed of state officials and employees
and administrators from the Ionia County and Montcalm Area ISDs.
Meetings are to begin in September and continue until March, when the
study group will present its findings to the boards of both districts.
"We're trying to look for ways to get a better bang for our buck,"
Ionia ISD Superintendent George Hubbard told the Sentinel-Standard.

Possible areas of savings include sharing Medicaid administrators,
state-mandated auditors, or speakers for teacher training seminars.
Currently, both districts employ people in those areas, but combining
those resources may be a feasible way to save money, according to
Montcalm ISD Assistant Superintendent Annegret Paas. "We see this as a
real possibility," Paas said, according to the Sentinel-Standard.

Though such collaboration is not common for ISDs in Michigan, several
districts have been researching the idea. "It's a little bit on the
cutting edge," said Hubbard. "All districts should look at
collaboration."

SOME DETROIT-AREA DISTRICTS TURN AWAY FROM LETTER GRADES
DETROIT - Several Detroit-area districts have turned away from
traditional letter grades for their elementary school students in favor
of "number-ranking" systems meant to provide a more accurate assessment
of student performance, reported The Detroit News.

The Roseville, Livonia and Allen Park districts, among others, now use
what they call "numeral proficiency ratings" in some elementary grades,
which provide data on student skill levels in several areas within each
subject. The systems also help show how a student is performing within
statewide rubrics for student achievement, according to The News. "Any
time you can give parents more information, the better," Michigan
Association of School Administrators Communication Manager Linda Wacyk
told The News. "And if that information is related to exactly what we
expect from kids and what they're going to be assessed on through the
MEAP ... all the better. It gives us information, instead of a label."

District officials in Livonia replaced the letter-grade system with the
new system for grades K-6 this year. Chris Schulte, a first-grade
teacher in that district, said the numeral system allows schools and
parents to better see how a student is performing than in the
traditional, letter-grade system. "An A, B or C is more ambiguous,"
Schulte told The News. The new grading system gives "a real perspective
of where their child stands in that grade level."

EMPTY CLASSROOMS IN YPSILANTI AMOUNT TO TWO VACANT SCHOOLS
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - A report presented to the Ypsilanti Board of
Education last Monday shows that the 39 empty classrooms in that
district's elementary schools amount to more than two empty schools,
according to The Ann Arbor News. The finding identifies an area that
could potentially save the district money as it faces a projected $5.4
million shortfall next school year.

The district will use this data, combined with input from the public
and information about staffing and curriculum, to determine if it
should close schools next fall. "The decision won't be completely
objective. Some would say that we should use just the facts, but a lot
of it will be subjective. We're going to take all the input we can get
from all sources before we make this hard decision," said Executive
Director of Human Resources John Fulton, according to The News.

The district's elementary school buildings were renovated in the late
1990s, and administrators believe enrollment in those schools will
remain steady for the next five years, according to Fulton. Interim
Superintendent James Hawkins said he would make recommendations for
closures by the end of the month. "It's important that decisions
regarding school closing be made ASAP," Hawkins told The News. "We will survive. I think we will come out of this pretty good, and we will not
sacrifice educational quality."

STATE LEGISLATORS PLAN TO SUBMIT CHARTER ACCOUNTABILITY BILLS
DETROIT - Two state legislators were expected to introduce legislation
last week meant to make Michigan charter schools more accountable,
according to the Detroit Free Press.

A bill from state Rep. Fred Miller, D-Mt. Clemens, would address
purported conflicts of interest between state officials and board
members at charter schools. Legislation from Rep. Hoon-Yung Hopgood,
D-Taylor, would force private charter management companies to provide
internal data under the Freedom of Information Act.

According to Rep. Hopgood, similar ideas were included in legislation
that never passed muster. "We think it's just right and good government
to be able to know how those tax dollars are spent," Hopgood told the
Free Press.

PLAN WOULD CREATE STATE FUNDING FORMULA FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
HOUGHTON, Mich. - Michigan House Republicans planned to announce
legislation to create for the first time a funding formula for the
state's 15 public universities, according to The Daily Mining Gazette.
The formula is meant to more fairly distribute state funds to
institutions of higher education.

The Gazette reported last Monday that the proposed Workforce Investment
Needs bill would base university funding on enrollment, research and
the number of degrees granted. "This plan is about funding fairness and
encouraging our colleges and universities to produce skilled workers,"
said House Speaker Craig DeRoche, R-Novi, in a statement. "Taxpayers
are tired of there being no clear cut and consistent way to fund
universities and their students."

Dale Tahtinen, vice president for government relations at Michigan
Technological University, said the cost for producing degrees - which
is high at his institution because of its focus on science and
engineering - should be taken into consideration, as well. According to
The Gazette, the plan would grant funds to universities on a per-pupil
basis, similar to the K-12 foundation grant system. It would also
provide money for graduating certain numbers of students and for
receiving federal research grants.

COLLEGES SLOW TO ADOPT NEW SAT ESSAY SECTION IN ADMISSIONS
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Less than half of colleges and universities in
the United States plan to require applicant scores on the College
Board's new SAT essay section, according to a report published Sunday
in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

The essay first appeared on the SAT test just three months ago, so
College Board officials said they are not surprised at its slow uptake.
"We have never recommended that schools use it in admissions decisions
right away," said College Board spokeswoman Chiara Coletti, according
to the Sun-Sentinel. "Since this is a new test, it makes sense to be
careful in how it's used the first year."

The ACT, College Board's competitor in the college entrance-test
market, also introduced a writing test this year, but that section is
optional. The Sun-Sentinel cited ACT officials as saying about half of
students taking the ACT are taking the optional writing section. In a
survey, ACT found that less than 20 percent of colleges and
universities would use writing scores for admissions decisions; that 61
percent would not use the scores; and that more than 20 percent would
make the scores optional for admission.

Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "POLICY BRIEF: Which Educational
Achievement Test is Best for Michigan?" May 2002
http://www.mackinac.org/4382

MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (http://www.educationreport.org),
a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of 130,000 published by the Mackinac Center
for Public Policy (http://www.mackinac.org),
a private,
nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.